It’s Unconstitutional For NASS Members To Fix Salaries –  Obasanjo; Afe Babalola Faults Constitution Of Election Tribunals

By Ayodele Oni

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said it is unconstitutional for National Assembly Members to fix their salary.

The two-term civilian President pointed out that it is the sole responsibility of the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission, (RMFAC) to fix salaries and wages of public office holders.

A report monitored on Channels Television stated that the former President said this on Monday while delivering a speech at the 60th anniversary celebration of legal icon Aare Afe Babalola’s call to the Bar held in Ado Ekiti.

He described the self-determination of lawmakers’ emoluments as immoral and unconstitutional, decrying that those who should uphold the constitution are “the ones who undermine it”.

According to Obasanjo, salary allocation for elected officials is the responsibility of the (RMFAC), which he said the lawmakers had jettisoned to fix salaries for themselves.

“Under Paragraph 32(a-e) of Part I to the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the commission is saddled with determining the remuneration appropriate for political officeholders, including legislators, among other functions.

“The point in Nigeria which I have seen and which I can attest to is most of the people who are supposed to be operationalising or managing and seeing the constitution and democracy move forward, they are actually the ones who undermine the constitution.

“All elected people, by our constitution, their emolument is supposed to be fixed by the revenue mobilisation commission, but our lawmakers set that aside and they make laws and put any emolument for themselves.

“Even if that is constitutional, it is not moral and, of course, it is neither constitutional nor moral.”

He also complained that so many other aspects of the Nigerian Constitution such as the Federal Character were “absolutely ignored”, saying that the Federal Character Commission barely carried out its function.

The former President said that when the constitution is “continually breached like that”, the country’s democracy becomes one where anything goes.

The former Nigerian Leader commended Aare Babalola for his contributions to the development of the country, saying that he had made things he met in life better than he met them.

“You have met this world at a point, you have met your community at a point, you have met your family at a point and what you have done is that what you have met, you have made it better than what you have found.”

The Legal luminary and founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, in his remarks faulted the constitution of Election Petition Tribunals saying  sitting Judges should not preside.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said Judges who preside over Election Tribunals should be separated from regular Court Judges to avoid the halt of cases unrelated to elections.

He suggested that Retired Judges and respectable SANs should preside.

“I have about three cases myself in respect of matters arising from the University.”

“For the past four years, these cases have been on. We have some judges here, the headquarters won’t be able to sit for many months because they are handling what they call election petitions.

“Election petitions should not be handled by sitting judges, they should be decided only by the committee set up consisting of senior advocates and retired judges in that case regular courts would not close down.”